"Get the hell back here!" My father yelled at me, as he chased me through out the house, knocking everything about that got in his way.
He'd been drinking heavily again, and when that happened, the severe beatings would come.
I could feel my heart beating rapidly in fear; my breathing was sharp to my ears.
Not tonight, god, please just make him stop.
To my shame, my vision started to blur quickly. I tripped over something on the ground and went flying.
It wasn't long before I hit the cold ground that the kicking started.
I curled into a ball and covered my head with my arms, hoping he would just grow tired of hurting me.
"You-" kick "worthless-" kick "piece-" stomp "of crap!" kick, kick, kick.
I whimpered quietly, aware that making noise would only enrage him further.
How could he hurt me like this, you might ask? Well…I'm not actually his daughter. And for 17 years, he thought I was.
My parents' marriage was an arranged one, one without any love at all. It was only until I was born, that my parents formed some sort of bond, some sort of common ground.
I couldn't blame father for being furious, for hating me, but I thought he would take his anger out on my mother. But then again…who am I to know what a male thinks?
It hurt me, more than physically. The man who raised me all my life, the one male that I ever trusted, wasn't even my father. And to know that he hated me now, that he would hit his 'daughter', broke my heart; it broke much more as well.
"Jarred! Stop it!" I dimly heard a high voice screech, and lifted my head to see who it was.
Mother! Oh no, get back into your room, lock the door! I wanted to scream out to her, to try to protect her.
"You slut!" father yelled, his face red, his black hair disheveled.
Mother, a small petite woman, who I took after-I think- was shaking with fear, but held her ground firmly.
"Mum, run!" I shouted as I saw his fist quickly come swinging around.
She didn't respond quickly enough, the impact of his fist with her cheek knocking her down.
Father turned around faster than I could have thought possible, and I couldn't duck my head in time.
His foot collided with my head, making me see red.
It was from that kick, that I lost control and consciousness, leaving my whole body unprotected against my "father's" rage.
I don't remember anything after that. It all just went black, and the pain didn't follow me.
…
Beep…beep…beep…beep
"How could you keep this from me? After all these years, don't you think I had the right to know? For god's sake, how could you keep the fact that she's my daughter from me?" I heard a low, rumbling voice demand from somewhere.
I thought they were talking nonsense to me at first, but then I realized the person was talking to someone else, attempting to keep their voice down.
"Like you would have acknowledged her, you would have denied the whole thing, just to keep from being tied down. Then where would I be?! I would be shunned from my family, and Jarred's." I heard my mother's voice.
"I would have acknowledged her; I would have made sure you were looked after." The voice retorted.
"Mother?" I mumbled, not wanting to hear any more of the conversation between my mother and…I suppose my real father.
It hurt to talk, my mouth and face felt like rubber.
"Oh Hayley! Are you alright?" I heard her frantically ask, and I cracked my eyelids open, searching for her face.
"Yes." I whispered, not telling the truth in the slightest.
I saw an unfamiliar man approach the bed I was in. His eyes looked familiar though. I saw them every time I looked in the mirror. The same deep brown, almost black, the very same eyes I had.
"You're in the hospital." She told me with tears in her eyes, as she fussed with my bed sheets.
"Where's father?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"Well, he- he's in custody." She said haltingly, not sure why I was asking.
I let out a sigh of relief, but then winced as my ribs hurt.
"I can't believe you would let this happen to our daughter. How could you let this happen, not once, but repeatedly?" the man softly asked, his eyes betraying anger.
"You don't understand; I couldn't stop him. Jarred is a law unto himself," she responded quietly, shaking.
"Yes you-" he began but I cut him off.
"Stop it! You don't know anything!" I said fiercely, ignoring the pain, having grown accustomed to it.
"Hayley, just relax." He said, his face showing concern.
"Nurse!" he called and a woman soon came into the room, wearing a warm smile.
"Can we up the dosage, Hayley is still in pain." He asked.
Before I could even argue, before I could object to this man taking control of me, the nurse had already upped the dosage, sending me into the clouds.
…
Amelia looked to David, hoping to find some sort of emotion that would make this all go away. He remained by Hayley's side, stroking her long dark hair, much like Amelia's.
"What am I going to do, David? He said he was going to kill her!" Amelia suddenly burst out, crying softly. Jarred had made it explicitly clear that he was going to kill Hayley, and that he had enough power to get away with it.
"She'll come with me. He doesn't know I'm her father, and he has no idea where to look. You hold him up as long as you can so she can escape."
"I can't tell her that he wants her dead, I just can't! He's been a father to her all her life!" Amelia imagined the pain Hayley would feel if she knew that Jarred wanted to kill her.
"We will tell her nothing of Jarred's intentions, just that he is still furious and unstable. I will try to protect her as best I can. There is still time to take precautions." David said firmly, with no intention of letting Jarred succeed.